Dave's Hot Chicken, a Nashville-style chicken chain that started in California, is opening on March 21 near MacEwan University and NorQuest College — despite other quick-serve American joints picking outlying areas of the city to test the market in Edmonton.
"I think that the brand will lend itself to open multiple locations in the Edmonton area," Blair Bitove, whose Bite Brands, a private equity and management firm from Toronto that oversees Canadian locations for Dave's, told Taproot. "I think our branding, our customer, is a younger demographic (than other chains)."
Downtown offers up that younger demographic for Dave's. MacEwan's latest annual report said the school is on track to reach 30,000 students by 2030 and some call the area the education district.
The decision to open Dave's at 10832 102 Avenue NW, which used to be a 7-Eleven, was partly because of demographics and partly because the landlord was receptive to Bitove's plans for ostentatious visuals on the building's exterior.
The location will put Dave's just a few blocks from a Popeyes Louisiana Chicken, but Bitove said she isn't afraid of a little clucking competition. "Funny enough, a Chick-fil-A opened down the street from us in our Burlington, (Ontario), location and our sales have increased there," Bitove said. "I think that there's a lot of people that are really into chicken right now. We have not strayed away from being near a competitor — if anything, we think there's a reason they're in that area."
Chick-fil-A, which The Advocate reports has "a long anti-LGBTQ+ history" yet survived the chicken sandwich wars of 2019, has opted for locations at South Edmonton Common and West Edmonton Mall over downtown Edmonton.
Dave's only other Canadian locations are in Ontario, and include busy urban spots like Yonge Street in downtown Toronto.
Dave's started in 2017 as a stand in Los Angeles. The company said last year it would have 300 locations by 2025. Bitove plans to open 25 to 30 locations in Western Canada and Ontario over the next few years, before expanding further. That may seem ambitious, but Bitove is confident in the product. Dave's founding chef, Dave Kopushyan, was trained by Thomas Keller at The French Laundry, a restaurant that has three Michelin stars. Bitove said that means a higher standard of quality than your average fast-casual chain.
"They created this brand, trying to cater to their friends with the unique aspect of the chef quality, so you can really taste that in our food," she said. "We use the best quality part of the chicken."
Edmonton's first Dave's Hot Chicken location is opening downtown, even though other chains have looked outside the core to test the city's waters. (Supplied)
Vancouverite Stefan Safrata of Marcus & Millichap helped secure the former 7-Eleven building for the new Dave's location, along with Avison Young and the Alldritt Group.
Safrata told Taproot that his work as a tenant representative involves helping brands grow. "I've been spending the last 10 years of my career focused on tenant-rep, and in doing so have worked with a number of brands to help them expand to 50-plus locations," Safrata told Taproot. "An example would be Noodlebox."
Safrata's work with Noodlebox helped the business grow from eight locations to more than 65 across Canada, including three in the Edmonton region.
Chicken options are numerous downtown and include local, independent businesses. One is Rob's Famous Fried Chicken, which was opened last year by the brothers behind Panini's Italian Cucina, which has further launched two ghost kitchens. Another is Seoul Fried Chicken, which has taken root at the former Blue Plate Diner space and found further footing outside the inner city. Plus, Northern Chicken is back on the first Wednesday of each month as a pop-up at Hayloft Steak + Fish after shuttering its two locations in the wake of the pandemic.